Summit on Fraser River Sockeye Salmon
Understanding Stock Declines
and Prospects for the Future
Tuesday–Wednesday, March 30–31, 2010
Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue, Simon Fraser University
580 West Hastings Street, Vancouver, BC
Co n t i n u i n g St ud i e s i n S c i e n c e
www.sfu.ca/cstudies/science
Objective
A scientists’ think tank met on December 7–8, 2009,
to consider the causes of the unusual and unexpectedly
low returns for Fraser River sockeye salmon in 2009. They
examined these questions:
• Is marine/ocean survival the problem?
• What other factors must be considered to develop a better
understanding of marine and freshwater survival?
• Do forecasts provide useful information to fisheries
managers?
• How can we improve monitoring and management in a
changing world?
• Where should research be focused?
Their findings were published in a statement which is
available at:
www.sfu.ca/cstudies/science/adaptingtochange.htm
This website also includes information about the scientists
and some of the resource materials considered in their review.
The Summit on Fraser River sockeye will review the findings
of the think tank in relation to the questions that were posed
and seek solutions from a broader audience to ensure survival
of Fraser River sockeye for future generations.
Taking a life cycle stage approach, we will follow sockeye from
their emergence from the gravel to the time they return as
adults, to gain a detailed understanding of the challenges
they face, and what can and should be done to ensure their
survival for generations to come.
[2]
Context for Dialogue
All proceedings will be recorded to support the postworkshop report. Photographs may also be included. The
report will include a synthesis of perspectives and will be
available electronically after the Dialogue.
Guidelines for Dialogue
These guidelines are designed to create opportunities to
maximize participation, foster a safe place for dialogue, enable
vigorous differences to surface without disrespecting anyone,
promote an open and full exchange of information/ideas and
generate an environment of shared learning.
• Presenters/responders respect time by keeping to their
allotted timeframe.
• Participants respect time through concise comments and
questions.
• Participants identify themselves when speaking.
• Participants listen and speak with respect.
• Participants try to find a good way to say difficult things.
• Let there be humour, when we explore tough issues, with
a spirit of learning, creating a healthy and constructive
learning environment.
• If there are any questions or concerns please bring them to
the session Chair.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Day 1: Challenges to Sockeye
Asia Pacific Hall—Room 100
8:00 am
Registration and light refreshment
8:30 am
Welcome
John Pierce, Dean, Faculty of Environment,
Simon Fraser University
8:45–9:30 am
Report from the December Think Tank of Scientists
10-minute presentations followed by discussion.
Chair: John Pierce, Dean of Faculty of Environment,
Simon Fraser University
Mike Lapointe, Chief Biologist, Pacific Salmon Commission
Mark Angelo, Chair, Pacific Fisheries Resource Conservation
Council
John Reynolds, Tom Buell Leadership Chair in Salmon
Conservation, Simon Fraser University
John Henderson, Councillor, Weiwaikum Band and Member,
First Nations Fisheries Council
9:30–10:30 am
Panel I: Fry emergence and migration to sea
10-minute presentations followed by discussion.
Chair: Craig Orr, Executive Director, Watershed Watch
Salmon Society
Mike Lapointe, Chief Biologist, Pacific Salmon Commission
David Welch, Kintama Research Corporation
• What is the “typical” life history of sockeye and what can
we learn by comparing typical lake rearing populations
(Chilko) with atypical, non-lake rearing populations
(Harrison Rapids)?
• How do we know how many fish go to sea?
• What is the variation in freshwater productivity; is diversity
important?
• What do we know about mortality during downstream
migration?
• What are the general trends and issues related to
freshwater sockeye stewardship?
10:30 am
Break
10:45 am–12 noon
Panel II: Smolts enter nearshore marine environments
10-minute presentations followed by discussion.
Chair: John Reynolds, Tom Buell Leadership Chair in Salmon
Conservation, Simon Fraser University
Andrew Trites, Professor, Marine Mammal Research Unit,
Fisheries Centre, University of British Columbia
Michael Price, M.Sc. Candidate, Biology, University of Victoria
Alexandra Morton, Director, Salmon Coast Field Station
• What stressors may be encountered?
12 noon
Lunch, ICBC Concourse (downstairs)
1:00–1:45 pm
Panel III: High Seas
10-minute presentations followed by discussion.
Chair: Craig Orr, Executive Director, Watershed Watch
Salmon Society
Sonia Batten, Sir Alister Hardy Foundation for Ocean Sciences,
presented by David Welch, Kintama Research Corporation
Skip McKinnell, Deputy Executive Secretary, North Pacific
Marine Science Organization
• Where and when do sockeye feed in the high seas?
• What are the recent survival and climate trends?
1:45–4:00 pm
Panel IV: The return migration
• What stressors may be encountered on the long trek back
to natal streams and what data are available with respect to
survival bottlenecks for sockeye?
• What is the quality of pre-season forecasts of adult
abundance?
• What is the fishing mortality by gear, area, and historical
trends?
• What is the potential impact of climate change in terms of
thermal stress in marine and freshwater environments?
• What are the trends in productivity (recent escapements,
mortality events)?
10-minute presentations followed by discussion.
Chair: Mark Angelo, Chair, Pacific Fisheries Resource
Conservation Council
Randall Peterman, Professor, Resource and Environmental
Management, Simon Fraser University
Mike Lapointe, Chief Biologist, Pacific Salmon Commission
Break (15 minutes)
[3]
The return migration (continued)
Karl English, Past President, LGL Ltd.
Scott Hinch, Professor, Institute for Resources, Environment
and Sustainability and Department of Forest Science,
University of British Columbia—Adult Sockeye Salmon:
Challenges to Complete the Journey and Spawn
4:00 pm
End of Day One
4:15 pm
Special Viewing—End of the Line
Introduction by Ken Wilson, Member, Canadian Caucus,
Fraser Panel on diversity
Viewing followed by panel of respondents:
Daniel Pauly, Member, Fisheries Centre, University of
British Columbia
John Nightingale, President, Vancouver Aquarium Marine
Science Centre
Based on the 2004 book, The End of the Line, this film
follows the investigative reporter Charles Clover as he
confronts politicians and celebrity restaurateurs, who
exhibit little regard for the damage they are doing to the
oceans.
“The End of the Line is not against fishing. It is not
against eating fish. But it is for a responsible attitude
towards the oceans.”
“We are given glimpses of hope and … this shines
from the eyes of … eminent marine biologists. Each
speaks with an insistent optimism, and as the story
unfolds it is obvious why. This is not an insoluble
problem. The answers are already known — all that is
required is to get them into the minds of those making
the decisions. … After decades in the wilderness,
warning about the coming crisis, people are starting to
sit up and pay attention. No new knowledge is required
— just action.”
[4]
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Day 2: What Can We Do?
Asia Pacific Hall – Room 100
8:00 am
Light Refreshment
8:30–9:15 am
Panel V: Review of Day One including results from the
December Scientists’ Think Tank and Recommendations
for Action
10-minute presentations followed by discussion.
Mark Angelo, Chair, Pacific Fisheries Resource Conservation
Council
John Reynolds, Tom Buell Leadership Chair in Salmon
Conservation, Simon Fraser University
• Is marine/ocean survival the problem?
• What other factors must be considered to develop a better
understanding of marine and freshwater survival?
• How can we improve monitoring, pre-season and in-season
management in a changing world?
• Where should research be focused?
9:15–10:45 am
Panel VI: Putting a value on salmon—social, economic,
ecological and cultural considerations
Chair: Craig Orr, Executive Director, Watershed Watch Salmon
Society
15-minute presentation followed by discussion
Kai Chan, Canada Research Chair and Assistant Professor,
Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability,
University of British Columbia
10-minute presentations followed by discussion.
Kelsey Charlie, Councillor, Culture Portfolio, Chehalis Band
Ken Wilson, Member, Canadian Caucus, Fraser Panel
What does Fraser River sockeye mean to society in
broad social, cultural and economic terms?
• Food, social and ceremonial fisheries
• Commercial net fisheries and Recreational fisheries
• Other social/cultural/economic/ecosystem services
concerns
10:45 am
Break
11:00 am–12:15 pm
Panel VII: What actions can be taken over the short and long
terms?
10-minute presentations followed by discussion.
Chair: Mark Angelo, Chair, Pacific Fisheries Resource Conservation
Council
What stewardship and stock recovery initiatives are underway
or needed? Case Studies:
• Salmon Stronghold
Ken Beeson, Pacific Fisheries Resource Conservation Council
• Water conservation
Craig Orr, Executive Director, Watershed Watch Salmon Society
• Contaminants and sewage
Ken Ashley, Instructor, School of Construction and
Environment, BC Institute of Technology
• Change to land-based, closed-containment aquaculture
Andy Wright, Member, Save Our Salmon Foundation
3:00–3:15 pm
Break
3:15–5:00 pm
Panel IX: How do we move forward and who pays for
this?
10-minute presentations followed by discussion.
Chair: Iona Campagnolo, Member, Collaborative Watershed
Governance Initiative
Chief Allan Claxton, Tsawout First Nation and Co-Chair, BC
First Nations Fisheries Council
John Fraser, Member, Pacific Fisheries Resource Conservation
Council
Rick Routledge, Professor, Statistics and Actuarial Sciences,
Simon Fraser University
David Anderson, Former MP and Minister of Environment
John Nightingale, President, Vancouver Aquarium Marine
Science Centre
Closing Remarks: Iona Campagnolo
12:15 pm
Lunch, ICBC Concourse (downstairs)
1:00–3:00 pm
Panel VIII: What tools do we have?
10-minute presentations followed by discussion.
Chair: Patricia Gallaugher, Director, Centre for Coastal Studies,
Simon Fraser University
• Salmon Genomics
Willie Davidson, Professor, Molecular Biology and Biochemistry,
Simon Fraser University and co-Principal Investigator of the
Consortium for Genomic Research on all Salmonids Project
• The Species at Risk Act
Arne Mooers, Associate Professor, Biological Sciences, Simon
Fraser University
• Water Act Reform
Linda Nowlan, Environmental Lawyer and Consultant with
Watershed Watch Salmon Society
• Integrated Salmon Dialogue Forum
Glenn Sigurdson, Facilitator, Integrated Salmon Dialogue Forum
and Principal, CSE Group
• Fisheries Monitoring and Compliance Initiatives
Craig Orr, Executive Director, Watershed Watch Salmon Society
• Wild Salmon Policy
Terry Glavin, Writer/Researcher
For information about Speaking for the Salmon
initiatives, visit our website at
www.sfu.ca/cstudies/science/salmon.htm
Contact us
Continuing Studies in Science
Simon Fraser University
8888 University Drive, Burnaby, BC V5A 1S6
Tel 778-782-5466 • Email cs-science@sfu.ca
[5]
Participant Biographies
The Honourable David Anderson was born in
Victoria seventy-three years ago. He has been an active
conservationist, particularly in the area of protecting our
coastline from oil tanker traffic and offshore drilling. He
served both as an MLA and an MP and served in the cabinet
of Prime Minster Chretien as both Fisheries Minister (1997–
99) and as Environment Minister (1999–2004).
Mark Angelo, Chair of the Pacific Fisheries Resource
Conservation Council, is a noted river conservationist,
outdoor leader, teacher and writer. He is the Chair of the
Rivers Institute as well as Program Head of the Fish, Wildlife
and Recreation Department at the British Columbia Institute
of Technology. He is the founder and chair of BC Rivers
Day, and also chairs World Rivers Day. Mark is a recipient
of the Order of Canada and also holds the Order of British
Columbia, in recognition of outstanding achievement in
preserving Canada’s waterways. He was the first recipient
of the National River Conservation Award as Canada’s most
outstanding river conservationist in the past decade and he
received the inaugural United Nations Stewardship Award.
His involvement with conservation issues in British Columbia
spans four decades and he has published close to 300 articles
and editorials. In June 2009, Dr. Angelo received an honourary
doctorate in science from Simon Fraser University.
Ken Ashley earned his BSc and MSc in Zoology, and MASc
and PhD in Civil/Environmental Engineering from UBC.
He worked for the Fisheries Research and Development
Section of the BC Ministry of Environment for 25 years
where he developed a variety of innovative lake aeration, lake
and stream fertilization and habitat restoration solutions.
From 2005–2007, Ken worked at the Greater Vancouver
Regional District as Senior Engineer in the Utility Analysis
and Environmental Management Division to learn about
the deleterious effects of municipal wastewater discharges
and drinking water withdrawals on aquatic ecosystems. He
returned to the Ministry of Environment in 2008 where he
was the provincial contact for the Living Rivers Program
and other habitat restoration /compensation programs. A
member of the Salmon 2100 project team, Ken is currently
an instructor at the BC Institute of Technology in the new
undergraduate degree program in Ecological Restoration, and
an Adjunct Professor of Civil Engineering at UBC, in addition
to operating his own ecological engineering consulting
company.
[6]
Sonia Batten completed her PhD at Southampton University
in the UK and then began a post-doc with the Sir Alister
Hardy Foundation for Ocean Science working on the north
Atlantic Continuous Plankton Recorder survey. In 2000 she
moved to Nanaimo, BC and coordinated the setting up of the
north Pacific CPR survey, now in its 11th consecutive year and
supported by a consortium of funding agencies including DFO.
Sonia’s experience is in biological oceanography, particularly
the large scale dynamics of zooplankton and their role in the
oceanic ecosystem.
Ken Beeson is the Managing Director of the Vancouverbased Public Policy Management consulting firm specializing
in environmental and health fields. He has been a senior
executive in the private sector and has led national not-forprofit organizations, including serving as interim President
and Chief Executive Officer of the International Centre for
Infectious Diseases. He has worked for more than eleven
years as a policy advisor to the Pacific Fisheries Resource
Conservation Council and has authored several reports on
salmon issues.
The Honourable Iona Campagnolo has had a long career in
representing the interests of British Columbians, serving both
in public office and in her private capacity. Ms. Campagnolo
has assisted in Speaking for the Salmon series and other SFU
Continuing Studies in Science initiatives since 1995. The
founding Chancellor of The University of Northern British
Columbia, Ms. Campagnolo was also the founding Chair of the
Fraser Basin Council and is an honourary SFU Alumna. She is
an Officer in the Order of Canada and a Member of the Order
of British Columbia and served as the first woman and 27th
Lieutenant Governor of our Province from 2001 to 2007.
Kai Chan is an assistant professor and Canada Research
Chair (tier 2) at the Institute for Resources, Environment and
Sustainability at the University of British Columbia. Kai is a
Canadian who received his PhD from Princeton University
and a postdoctoral fellowship from Stanford University. His
research is interdisciplinary and policy-relevant, in three
primary areas: (1) biodiversity and ecosystem services (the
processes by which ecosystems benefit people, directly and
indirectly); (2) biological infestations and invasions; and (3)
applied environmental ethics. In all, he strives to understand
the workings of and values associated with social-ecological
systems, in order to facilitate decision-making that promotes
human well-being and social and ecological justice. Kai leads
the Conservation Collaboration in Interdisciplinary Study of
Ecosystems (www.conciseresearch.net); he is a director on the
board of the BC chapter of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness
Society (CPAWS), a columnist at the Vancouver Metro, and a
senior fellow of the Environmental Leadership Program.
Participant Biographies
Kelsey Charlie is a Councillor with the Chehalis First
Nation. He holds the Culture portfolio among many other
responsibilities.
Chief Allan Claxton (Sxed Qel A’new) has been the Chief of
the Tsawout First Nation for the past sixteen years. During his
tenure, Tsawout has taken charge of their sewage treatment
plant, implemented a lands management program and
introduced taxation. Chief Claxton’s goal is to move his
community into self-sufficiency through self-government,
with the ultimate goal being a healthy community in control
of its own destiny. Chief Claxton currently serves as a cochair of the BC First Nations Fisheries Council, and as a BC
representative for the Assembly of First Nations National
Fisheries Committee. He is also a board member for the
Centre for Indigenous Environmental Resources, a member
of the Regional Chiefs’ Health Committee, a member of the
Chiefs’ Committee on Health, and a BC Assembly of First
Nations representative for the Leadership Council of Health.
He has also served as the national representative for Health
Technicians. He loves spending time with his wife, their five
children, and their grandchildren. He enjoys golfing and the
outdoors.
Willie Davidson is a Professor in the Department of
Molecular Biology and Biochemistry at Simon Fraser
University. His research interests are broad, but are all in the
general field of molecular evolution. He has investigated
population structuring in Atlantic salmon and Arctic char as
well as the interactions between, and the hybridization of,
brown trout and Atlantic salmon. For the past ten years he
has been involved in salmonid genomic research, and was a
co-PI of the Genome Canada/Genome BC funded Consortium
for Genomic Research on All Salmonids Project (cGRASP).
He is currently involved with sequencing the Atlantic
salmon genome, applying genomic techniques to salmonid
broodstock development and examining the population
genetics of sea lice.
Karl English is a fisheries scientist with 29 years of professional
experience working with LGL Limited on Pacific salmon
fisheries. Karl has spent most of his career designing and
implementing studies to improve the quality and quantity of
information available for the management and assessment
of Pacific salmon and steelhead stocks. Karl has conducted
projects throughout BC, and in Washington State, Alaska
and the Yukon. He has designed catch monitoring programs
for commercial, sport and First Nation fisheries; directed
multi-year studies to assess fish distribution, abundance and
migration behaviour in coastal waters and large river systems;
and provided expert advice to First Nations, industry, NGOs,
university researchers and all levels of government.
A sample of the salmon and steelhead projects directed
by Mr. English include: the 1982–85 International Salmon
Tagging Studies conducted in northern BC and southeast
Alaska; the Nisga’a Fisheries Program; the 1986–99 Georgia
Strait Creel Survey; the 1996–2002 Yukon River Basin Salmon
Harvest Study; and radio telemetry studies to assess migration
behaviour and abundance on the Nass, Skeena, Fraser, Bella
Coola and Columbia rivers (1992-present). Mr. English has
also directed research on other fish species including: white
sturgeon, arctic cisco, broad whitefish, and reviewed research
and stock assessment programs associated with the fisheries
in the Canadian Great Lakes. In additional to his research
and project management responsibilities, Karl has extensive
experience in Treaty negotiations process through his role as
fisheries advisor during the negotiation of the Nisga’a Treaty
and Tsawwassen Treaty.
The Honourable John Fraser graduated from the University
of British Columbia and practised law until his election to the
House of Commons. During his years in Parliament, he served
in key positions, including Minister for the Environment and
Minister of Fisheries. He was the first person to have been
elected Speaker of the House of Commons by his peers, a
practice instituted in 1986. In 1994, John Fraser was selected
to head the Fraser River Sockeye Public Review Board
investigating the salmon fishery. In September 1998, John
Fraser was appointed Chair of the Pacific Fisheries Resource
Conservation Council and remained as Chair until April 2005
and he currently remains a Council member. In December
2004, Mr. Fraser was appointed chair of British Columbia’s
Pacific Salmon Forum.
Patricia Gallaugher is Director of Continuing Studies in
Science, Director of the Centre for Coastal Studies, and
Adjunct Professor in Biosciences at Simon Fraser University.
Dr. Gallaugher’s research on salmon physiology and selective
fishing conducted in partnership with members of the BC
commercial salmon fishing fleet, coastal communities and First
Nations, the Province of BC and Fisheries and Oceans Canada
was recognized in 2002 with the Vancouver Aquarium Murray
A. Newman Award for Excellence in Aquatic and Marine
Conservation Research which she received with Dr. Rick
Routledge and Dr. Tony Farrell. Patricia has helped to develop
a number of programs dealing with coastal and ocean resource
sustainability issues in BC and Atlantic Canada. In 1998 she
initiated the Speaking for the Salmon series of workshops,
scientists’ roundtables and think tanks focusing on linking
science to policy for the future sustainability of Pacific wild
salmon.
Dr. Gallaugher is a member of the Science Advisory
Committee for the Canadian Healthy Oceans Network
(CHONe), Board Member of Coastal Zone Canada, a co[7]
Participant Biographies
founder and member of the steering committee of the
Canada Ocean Lecture and a co-investigator on the
Consortium for Genomic Research on All Salmonids
(cGRASP) Genome Canada/BC funded research project
based at Simon Fraser University and the University of
Victoria.
Terry Glavin is a journalist, the author of eight non-fiction
books, and an adjunct professor in the Creative Writing
department at the University of British Columbia. His most
recent book, Waiting for the Macaws, is published under
separate titles in Canada, the United States, the UK and
Germany. For this book, he traveled around the world to
report on the impacts of globalization, biodiversity loss, and
the vanishing of cultural and linguistic diversity. His book,
The Last Great Sea: A Voyage Through the Human and Natural
History of the North Pacific Ocean, was nominated for the Bill
Duthie Prize and the Roderick Haig-Brown Non-Fiction Prize,
and was the winner of The Hubert Evans Non-Fiction Prize. As
a journalist and columnist for The Vancouver Sun, The Globe
and Mail, the Georgia Straight and the Tyee, and a frequent
contributor to such newspapers and magazines as Lettre
International (Berlin), Canadian Geographic, the Vancouver
Review and the Ottawa Citizen, Terry specializes in relating
natural history to anthropology and contemporary cultural
phenomena. He has won multiple awards for feature length
essays, including several science-writing prizes, Western
Magazine Awards and National Magazine Awards. Terry was
the recipient of the 2009 Lieutenant-Governor’s Award for
Literary Excellence. His new book, Come From The Shadows,
to be published by Douglas and McIntyre, is set mainly in
Afghanistan, where Terry is hoping to learn how to properly
flyfish the Panjshir River.
John Henderson is one of 17 children of the late master
carver Samuel Henderson and May Henderson. John was
given his name Tl’Wakgila (Holder of the Copper) in a
memorial potlatch in the 70s that his father had for his
mother. John was initiated into the Hamatsa society, which
is a sacred dance given by Chiefs. John has worked with
the Campbell River (Weiwaikum) Band for many years as a
councilor, and also served as the Chief and is currently a band
councilor. He has been working with the Kwakiutl District
Council for the last 16 years, and is currently the vice chair. He
has also been the chairman of the Hamtla Treaty for 8 years.
John spent many years fishing with his parents, and then later
fished on his uncle’s salmon seine boats. He became a skipper
on a seine boat in 1982, and has worked in this business ever
since. John always thanks his uncles for all the knowledge
they gave him in the fishing industry, and credits them for his
success.
[8]
Scott Hinch is a fisheries scientist in the Department
of Forest Sciences and Centre for Applied Conservation
Research at the University of British Columbia. Since joining
UBC in 1994, he has developed two broad research programs:
the study of salmon migration energetics, physiology,
behaviour and survival; and, the study of land-use impacts on
salmonids and their habitat. He collaborates extensively with
colleagues studying physiology, biochemistry and genomics
and uses an interdisciplinary approach to tackle pressing
issues in the conservation and management of Pacific
salmonids. Dr. Hinch has been studying Fraser River sockeye
salmon ocean and freshwater migrations for the past 16 years
and has participated in several past inquiries into “missing
salmon.” He continues to lead an interdisciplinary research
team investigating the early migration and high mortality
phenomenon in late run Fraser sockeye, and the effects of
climate change on Fraser sockeye.
Mike Lapointe has a Bachelor of Science degree in Wildlife
Management from the University of Maine and a Master of
Science degree in Zoology (Fisheries) from the University of
British Columbia. Mr. Lapointe has over 20 years experience in
Salmon Assessment and Management. For the past 17 years,
he has been a member of the Pacific Salmon Commission
(PSC) staff, becoming its Chief of the Fisheries Management
Division in 2002. As Chief, Mike leads a technical team of
about 15 individuals that provide in-season assessments
of return timing and abundance of Fraser River sockeye
and pink salmon used by the bilateral Fraser River Panel
to regulate harvests under the terms of the Pacific Salmon
Treaty between Canada and the United States. In addition to
in-season duties, Mr. Lapointe and his staff assist the Panel in
developing pre-season plans and liaise with agency staff from
both countries in areas related to salmon assessment and
management.
Skip McKinnell received a PhD in Fish Biology from Sveriges
Lantbruksuniversitet (Swedish University of Agricultural
Sciences) for research on the interaction of Atlantic salmon
biology and the fishery. He was the first Lead Author of DFO’s
Wild Salmon Policy and is a former chairman of their salmon
assessment review sub-committee. He was Canada’s principal
scientific investigator of the effects on large-scale driftnet
fishing. Since 1999, he has been Deputy Executive Secretary
of the international, intergovernmental North Pacific Marine
Science Organization (PICES) where he is currently editor-inchief of a new PICES book on the status and trends in North
Pacific marine ecosystems. His hobbies include the making of
forecasts of Chilko Lake sockeye salmon returns at the annual
salmon forecasting forum.
Participant Biographies
Arne Mooers is an Associate Professor of Biodiversity at
Simon Fraser University. Dr. Mooers received his training
from McGill and Oxford Universities and previously held
research positions at the Zoological Museum of Amsterdam,
the University of British Columbia, and is a past fellow of the
Institute for Advanced Study in Berlin. He is the incoming
Chair of the Biodiversity and Conservation Committee, and
a member of the Executive Committee, of the Canadian
Society for Ecology and Evolution, and he is lead author of a
review of the Species at Risk Act for the Federal Parliament.
Arne’s expertise is in phylogenetics, comparative evolutionary
biology and ways to quantify biodiversity for conservation.
(www.sfu.ca/~amooers )
Alexandra Morton is the director of the Salmon Coast Field
Station in the Broughton Archipelago where she has lived
and conducted research for 26 years. In addition to her wellknown research on orca whales, Alexandra has authored or
co-authored seventeen peer-reviewed scientific papers on
impacts of salmon farms. The author of a number of books
and a Registered Professional Biologist, Alexandra is the
recipient of the Roderick Haig-Brown Conservation Award
(2005), the Vancouver Aquarium’s Murray A. Newman
Award for Excellence in Aquatic Conservation (2006), and the
Roland Michener Conservation Award (2008) among others.
Ms. Morton was part of a research team that was the last to
see the 2009 sockeye as they migrated out of the Strait of
Georgia.
John Nightingale has a broad professional background
in aquatic sciences, specializing in using them to enhance
public awareness, education and promote conservation. A
professional biologist and public educator, Dr. Nightingale
has been responsible for the development and operation
of some of the world’s best aquariums. His background and
lifelong work in public communications, and both formal
and informal public education, make him a leader in the
current rapid development of new conservation efforts in
aquariums, zoos and museums. During his seventeen years
at the Vancouver Aquarium, he has guided the expansion
of the Aquarium’s leadership in conservation and research
while focusing operations on sustainability and solid fiscal
performance. As a result, the Vancouver Aquarium is not only
one of the “greenest” cultural institutions in Canada, it is the
only one that is financially self-sufficient, operating without
an annual subsidy from Government.
Linda Nowlan is a public interest environmental lawyer
and independent consultant in Vancouver. Previously, she
worked at West Coast Environmental Law, a public interest
law organization, for ten years, after practicing civil litigation
for five years. She has also worked for the Program on Water
Governance at the University of British Columbia and the
UK Foreign Office. Her water law publications cover topics
such as groundwater regulation (Walter and Duncan Gordon
Foundation), collaborative water governance (UBC Program
on Water Governance commissioned by the province of
BC), customary water law and aboriginal rights (UN Food
and Agriculture Organization), water markets (Conference
Board of Canada), and the human right to water (World
Water Institute). Other environmental law publications
include a guide to the Arctic environmental legal regime
(IUCN), and a guide to international environmental treaties
(WCELRF). She sits on the Greenest City Action Team for the
City of Vancouver, the Board of the Sierra Club of Canada
Foundation, and the Canadian Council of Academies’ Expert
Panel on Groundwater. Ms. Nowlan is a member of the Law
Society of BC, the IUCN Commission on Environmental Law,
the ELAW Alliance, and is a Fellow of LEAD International.
Craig Orr is a behavioural ecologist and the Executive
Director of the Watershed Watch Salmon Society, where
he promotes salmon conservation and public outreach.
Dr. Orr has served as Associate Director of Simon Fraser
University’s Centre for Coastal Studies, Chair of BC Hydro’s
Bridge Coastal Restoration Program, Vice-Chair of the
Habitat Conservation Trust Fund, and technical reviewer
for the Pacific Salmon Endowment Fund, Pacific Salmon
Commission, National Marine Fisheries Service, Fisheries
and Oceans Canada, Vancouver Foundation, Friends of the
Environment Foundation, and others. He also currently chairs
the Pacific Marine Conservation Caucus, and the Monitoring
and Compliance Panel of the Integrated Salmon Dialogue
Forum. With Watershed Watch Craig has focused on a broad
array of habitat and harvest issues, participating in numerous
water use planning activities (Coquitlam Water Use Plan
Consultative Committee, BC Hydro Fisheries Advisory Team,
First Nations Water Use Planning Committee, Kwikwetlem
Salmon Restoration Program), harvest planning committees
(Integrated Harvest Planning Committee, Williams’ 2004
Sockeye Review Panel, Fraser Salmon Table, BC Aboriginal
Fisheries Commission (selective fisheries coordinator), and
other initiatives. Dr. Orr has worked extensively on the issue of
aquaculture impacts for nearly a decade, authoring numerous
technical reports and peer-reviewed studies, researching
lice infestations on juvenile sockeye, and serving as science
coordinator for the Coastal Alliance for Aquaculture
Reform, where he oversees collaborative research and louse
monitoring programs with Marine Harvest Canada.
[9]
Participant Biographies
Daniel Pauly is a French citizen who completed his high
school and university studies in Germany; his doctorate
(1979) and habilitation (1985) are in Fisheries Biology, from
the University of Kiel. After many years at the International
Center for Living Aquatic Resources Management (ICLARM),
in Manila, Philippines, Daniel Pauly became in 1994 Professor
at the Fisheries Centre of the University of British Columbia,
of which he was the Director for 5 years (Nov. ’03-Oct. ’08).
Since 1999, he is also Principal Investigator of the Sea Around
Us Project (see www.seaaroundus.org), funded by the Pew
Charitable Trusts, and devoted to studying, documenting and
promoting policies to mitigate the impact of fisheries on the
world’s marine ecosystems.
Randall Peterman is a Professor in the School of
Resource and Environmental Management at Simon
Fraser University. He holds a Canada Research Chair
in Fisheries Risk Assessment and Management. Dr.
Peterman’s research focuses on quantitative methods
to improve the understanding and management of fish
populations, particularly in the presence of uncertainties
and conservation risks. His research group specializes in
developing and applying quantitative methods to improve
fisheries management, mostly related to Pacific salmon,
through using large data sets, simulation models, Bayesian
and other statistical methods, and formal decision analysis.
Most relevant to this workshop is his group’s past research
on developing and comparing the methods for preseason forecasting of abundances that are used by salmon
management agencies on the west coast of North America.
Randall’s group has received several international awards
for the quality of its research. Randall has served on various
policy advisory groups and helped to write the 1995 United
Nations Food and Agriculture Organization’s Precautionary
Approach to Capture Fisheries and he is a member of the
Royal Society of Canada (RSC) Expert Panel on Ocean
Climate Change and Marine Biodiversity.
John Pierce has for the past 33 years served many diverse
roles within Simon Fraser University as a researcher, teacher,
administrator and community advisor. He has taught
and published widely on topics relating to sustainable
community development; food security, resource and
environmental management/modelling; and public policy.
As an administrator he served as Chair of the Department of
Geography, Director of the Centre for Community Economic
Development, Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences;
and most recently he serves as the inaugural Dean to the
newly created Faculty of Environment at SFU. John received
his PhD from the London School Of Economics.
[ 10 ]
Michael Price is a MSc candidate with the University
of Victoria, and conservation biologist with Raincoast
Conservation Foundation, where he is the project manager
of their Juvenile Salmon Ecology Program. He is also a science
advisor on wild salmon ecology with the Heiltsuk Nation.
Michael has extensive field research experience, spanning
multiple projects, and involving keystone and endangered
species of terrestrial and marine systems. Michael’s most recent
focus is on anthropogenic influences on the early marine
survival of Fraser River sockeye.
John Reynolds is a professor at Simon Fraser University,
where he holds the Tom Buell BC Leadership Chair in Salmon
Conservation and Management. His research focuses on
understanding connections between salmon and their
ecosystems, emphasizing implications for conservation and
sustainability. This includes research on numerous streams
in both the Fraser Basin and in the Great Bear Rainforest. Dr.
Reynolds has held a wide range of scientific advisory positions,
including the BC Pacific Salmon Forum and the Skeena
Independent Science Review Panel. He has written five books
and over 150 scientific articles on ecology and conservation. In
2000, he was awarded the FSBI Medal by the Fisheries Society
of the British Isles, and in 2003 he received the J.C. Stevenson
Award from the Canadian Conference for Fisheries Research.
http://www.sfu.ca/reynolds
Rick Routledge develops and applies statistical methodology
in population biology and renewable resource management.
Current projects include (i) coordination of and participation
in ecosystem research on the British Columbia Central Coast,
and (ii) collaborative research on interactions between fish
farms, sea lice, and wild Pacific salmon. Dr. Routledge has also
worked with the Pacific Salmon Commission on alterations
to their hydroacoustic estimation of fish passage in the Fraser
River, and has developed models for generating theoretical
insight on mixed-stock fisheries, extinction risks, and
incorporating uncertainty into forest management decisions.
He served on the Fraser River Sockeye Public Review Board
in 1994–1995, and was a founding member of the Pacific
Fisheries Resource Conservation Council. Rick was a
co-recipient of the Vancouver Aquarium Murray A. Newman
Award for Excellence in Aquatic and Marine Conservation and
Research in 2002.
Participant Biographies
Glenn Sigurdson is the lead Facilitator for the Integrated
Salmon Dialogue Forum and Principal, CSE Group. His
background includes experience as a mediator, facilitator, and
negotiator; he also brings with him an extensive adjudicative
background as an arbitrator in workplace, commercial, and
healthcare disputes, and as the Senior Vice Chair of the
Manitoba Labour Relations Board (1980–1989, part time).
Glenn is associated with Simon Fraser University, where he
is an adjunct Professor in the Learning Strategies Group in
the Faculty of Business. He is also associated with the LL.M.
Graduate Program in Dispute Resolution, Osgoode Hall Law
School of York University in Toronto (2002–2003).
He is a former President (1996) of the Society of Professionals
in Dispute Resolution (SPIDR), now known as the Association
for Conflict Resolution, the pre-eminent international
organization in the ADR field, headquartered in Washington,
D.C. He has recently been appointed to the NAFTA Advisory
Group, established under Article 2022 of the NAFTA
Agreement to deal with international private commercial
disputes as one of the Canadian non-government members.
Andrew Trites is Director of the Marine Mammal Unit at
the UBC Fisheries Centre and Research Director of the North
Pacific Universities Marine Mammal Research Consortium.
He is also a member of the Marine Mammal Specialist Group
for the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in
Canada (COSEWIC), and a member of the PICES Advisory
Panel on Marine Birds and Mammals. Dr. Trites has been
studying marine mammals in the North Pacific for over 30
years. His current research is primarily focused on pinnipeds
(Steller sea lions, northern fur seals and harbor seals),
and involves captive studies, field studies and simulation
modeling. Some of his work includes modeling the Bering Sea
ecosystem, estimating the extent of competition between
marine mammals and fisheries, and evaluating the junk-food
hypothesis thought by many to explain the decline of Steller
sea lions in Alaska. He trains students and collaborates with
researchers specializing in other disciplines (such as nutrition,
ecology, physiology and oceanography). His graduate
students have worked on a variety of subjects including
harbour seal genetics, killer whale / vessel interactions, Steller
sea lion behavior, pinniped energetics, GIS mapping of marine
mammal critical habitat, and predation on salmonids.
David Welch is the president and founder of Kintama Research
Corporation. David has a BSc in Biology and Economics from
the University of Toronto and a PhD in Oceanography from
Dalhousie University. For the first 20 years of his career David
worked for DFO’s Pacific Biological Station in Nanaimo. David
developed the original concept of building continental-scale
marine tracking arrays to resolve critical issues in salmon
management. David founded Kintama to begin evaluating
sensor technology for this purpose, and to develop the
required technology for building large-scale & highly efficient
telemetry arrays.
Ken Wilson is a representative of the Marine Conservation
Caucus, serving on the Integrated Harvest Planning
Committee, and the Canadian caucus of the Pacific Salmon
Commission’s Fraser Panel. After completing his post-graduate
work at the University of BC in 1980, Ken began his career with
DFO, Fraser River Division, as a fisheries manager and stock
assessment biologist, leaving in 1997 to assume responsibilities
as the Stock Management coordinator for the Fraser River
Aboriginal Fisheries Secretariat. In this capacity, Mr. Wilson
chaired the Fraser Watershed Stock Management Committee
and served on the Marine Fish Species Specialist Group of the
Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada
(COSEWIC).
Andrew Wright graduated from the University of Hull,
England with a first class honors Bachelor of Science, a Diploma
of Engineering and a Doctorate in Microwave Engineering. He
has published numerous IEEE peer-reviewed research papers
and has been awarded over 50 patents. After emigrating
to Canada, Dr. Wright co-founded and was CTO of Datum
Telegraphic Inc. Datum was subsequently acquired by PMCSierra. He is currently a Director of Actenum, Zymeworks, and
Pharos Capital and a co-founder of Aegis Mobility. Dr. Wright
is a proponent of environmental stewardship initiatives. He
is a lead donor for the Tides Canada Great Bear Rainforest
initiative, which promises to be a model for world conservancy.
Upon visiting the Broughton Archipelago and witnessing the
impact of open net-cage salmon farming, he has become an
advocate for improving salmon aquaculture practices on the
West Coast.
[ 11 ]
Thank You to Our Sponsors
BC Institute of Technology, Rivers Institute
Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation
Ocean Management Research Network
Pacific Salmon Foundation
Watershed Watch Salmon Society
Simon Fraser University
• Centre for Coastal Studies
• Faculty of Environment
• Faculty of Science
Pacific Fisheries Resource Conservation Council
Steering Committee
Mark Angelo, Chair, Pacific Fisheries Resource Conservation Council and Chair, Rivers Institute, BC Institute of Technology
Patricia Gallaugher, Director, Centre for Coastal Studies and Continuing Studies in Science, Simon Fraser University
Craig Orr, Executive Director, Watershed Watch Salmon Society
John Reynolds, Tom Buell Leadership Chair in Salmon Conservation, and Professor, Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University
Brian Riddell, CEO, Pacific Salmon Foundation
Ernie Victor, Manager, Aboriginal Community Liaison, Fraser Basin Council